April 1, 1974: I Dream of NASA
by G.L. Peabody
Summary: Time Traveller Dr. Sam Beckett leaps into the body of NASA Psychiatrist Dr. Alfred Bellows after a huge time rip puts project Quantum Leap and the Space Program in danger. Several crossovers.
1. Jeannie's Birthday

I have quantum leaped into many different circumstances, each challenging in their own right. This leap promised to be another doosey. I found myself wearing the uniform of an Air Force Colonel holding a very cranky baby. As a matter of fact the child was looking up at me screaming.

_Oh Boy, I really should have paid more attention during my pediatrics rotation when I was an intern. _

A very attractive blonde woman, most likely the baby's mother, came to my (and the child's) aid by saying, "There, there, Anthony Junior, be nice to the friendly Colonel," reading my name badge, Anthony Junior's mother asked, "Colonel Bellows, are you any relation to Doctor Bellows?"

An older woman, overhearing the exchange, exclaimed, "Jeannie, don't be silly, that _is _Alfred."

Jeannie disagreed, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Bellows, but he doesn't look anything like Dr. Bellows." Then Jeannie looked up at an Army Major General standing in the back of the room and added, "Colonel Healey, shouldn't you be up in the spacelab… and you shouldn't be dressed up like a General, you could get in trouble!"

The General replied, "That's Skylab. Jeannie, only you and the man in front of you can see or hear me. And you have to pretend the Colonel here actually is Doctor Bellows." Then the General informed me, "Sam, you are Doctor Alfred Bellows, MD, USAF. You've met Jeannie Nelson, wife of Lt. Colonel Anthony Nelson who currently is up in orbit with the Lt. Colonel version of myself and a Navy Commander named Wingate. The woman next to Jeannie is your wife Amanda. I'll give you more information later."

I noticed the device this Major General that Jeannie called Healey had in his hand. It looked very similar to the controller that my contact from the present time, Admiral Al Calavicci held. Was this General Al's replacement? Al would have told me if he was going anywhere. Both this General and Al were former Astronauts of Flag rank. Maybe the Army took control of Project Quantum Leap. I know they wanted it for some time. I just hope nothing serious happened to Al.

Jeannie Nelson was surprisingly cool. Too cool, it was if she had been keeping secrets all her life. She just told Amanda Bellows, "I'm sorry Mrs. Bellows, I've been under a lot of stress."

Amanda just laughed, "That's all right Jeannie. After all, here you are chasing a ten month old, celebrating your birthday, all while Tony is circling the earth for the next three months." Looking around, I saw the birthday decorations. Amanda added for my benefit, "Lets go home Alfred and let Jeannie get some rest."

I answered, "Sure, dear," and then using an old leaping trick, I added, "Why don't you drive home."

Amanda replied sharply, "A little too much of Tony's Scotch, eh."

I said nothing. I'd rather have her think I was drunk than not knowing were we lived. It was a fairly quiet drive home. After we got to the house, I decided to go into the garage. As I suspected, the good doctor had a little workshop in there. It was an excuse to be alone. I fiddled around with Dr. Bellows tools for a few minutes, hoping for Al, then the holographic general appeared.

"Who are you?" I asked the new hologram.

The hologram replied, concerned, "Oh, no! That Swiss cheese memory of yours is acting up again. You are Samuel Beckett MD, PHD, physician/ physicist who invented time travel. As incredible as this sounds, you "quantum leap" into the lives of individuals during your own lifetime. In most cases, everybody sees you as the person you leaped into. Jeannie is an exception though, as she's a _very special _case. You're here because something went wrong in the original time line. Once you fix the error, you will leap on to another person, or hopefully home."

I said exasperated, "I know who I am. Who in the blazes are _you?"_

Looking somewhat hurt, the General continued, "I am Major General Roger Healey, director of US Army Research. I was an Astronaut in the 60s and 70s, transferring over to Army research in '81 after earning my doctorate in astrophysics from FIT. Dr, Beckett, you and I have been working together since the Star Bright project. We started project Quantum Leap together. Right now I'm in 1997 New Mexico and you're seeing a holographic projection of me from the imaging chamber. Sam—I'm your best friend."

At first I thought my memory was bad, but I didn't think it was that bad. Then it occurred to me. This rip in time was larger than any I have dealt with in the past. Roger here wasn't Al's successor as the observer for project Quantum Leap. In this timeline, General Roger Healey _was,_ for all intents and purposes, Admiral Al Calavicci.


	2. Where's Al?

For the time being, I decided to take what Healey said at face value. I didn't have much choice. But I still was very cautious. This didn't feel like the work of the evil leaper, but one never knows. I also needed to find out about my mission and what happened to Al. Major General Roger Healey seemed to be the answer man.

I had an idea, "General, I mean Roger," I hesitantly inquired, "See what Ziggy has on an Alfonso Cavalicci. He was most likely a Naval Aviator in Vietnam."

Healey looked surprised at my request, "After two years of leaping, you think I'd be used to that Swiss cheese memory of yours. I don't need Ziggy to give you the skinny on Al Calavicci. As you mentioned, Calavicci was a Navy pilot. He was shot down over Vietnam and spent over half a decade in a POW camp. After he was repatriated, he became CO of the Naval Fighter Weapons School (AKA Top Gun) at NAS Miramar. Calavicci was then promoted to Captain and given command of the Amphibious Assault Ship _USS Pyle._ Around the Bicentennial, Captain Calavicci was directing an landing exercise on an island thought to be deserted. Turns out there were people there. Calavicci rescued the seven survivors of the _SS_ _Minnow_… lost at sea from a three hour tour a dozen years prior. Captain Calavicci retired from the Navy a few months later, moving to Las Vegas, opening a successful business flying in high rollers for the casinos, and marrying the former Ginger Grant. I remember seeing Ginger at the Sands…and think wow!" It seemed General Healey had a similar personality to Al's as well. Roger continued, "Calavicci decided to go into politics. Thanks to Ginger's publicity skills, and Thurston Howell's money, in 1992 Al Calavicci was elected to be the junior senator from Nevada. Sam, he sits on the subcommittee that oversees project Quantum Leap!"

So that's what would happen to Al if he didn't make into the space program. Sure he loved being an astronaut, but in this timeline he becomes a Senator married to a movie star! Maybe that's the way it's supposed to be…

I asked Roger, "So you know the people in this leap? And how come that woman could see you and the real me?"

Roger laughed, "Jeannie is a special case. I'd tell you more, but I made a promise to an old friend long before I met you. Anthony Nelson, Sr., Jeannie, and I were very close in the 60s and 70s. But like a lot of astronauts, we drifted apart after they ended manned spaceflight in 1985."

"They ended manned spaceflight in 1985?" I asked, shocked. I know I've forgotten a lot of things since I stepped in the Quantum Leap accelerator, but Iclearly remember shuttle missions after 1985.

Roger looked grim, and continued, "You are Mr. Short Term Memory. In 1984, a group of soldiers of fortune hijacked the Space Shuttle _Galactica_ to liberate a Russian defector from the Soviet Space station _Salyut 7_. The defector gave the CIA valuable information about the Russian's "Star Wars" plan, but the shuttle pilot and mercenaries escaped to the Los Angeles underground after the _Galactica _landed at Edwards Air Force Base. The commandoes who liberated the defector were regarded as modern day Robin Hoods by the public. It still amazes me that even though thousands of rounds were exchanged in the shootout between the soldiers of fortune and the Air Force Security Police Detachment at Edwards, not so much as one person was injured. Anyway, the simple fact that a group was able to hijack a shuttle started some very important people asking very tough questions about manned space flight. It was decided by all the major world powers that with the advances in computers and robotics, that all future space flights would be automated. The rationale was that computers would be more cost effective and less risky. Without the thrill of space flight, Tony Nelson retired as a Colonel, and lives on a ranch in Texas with Jeannie and his son. I still get Christmas cards from them, but I rarely see the Nelsons. Since I was already established in the Army Research Command, instead of NASA, my career thrived."

That was definite food for thought. Even though Al would have loved being senator married to a movie star, he most definitely wouldn't have wanted at the expense of the space program. I'm sure somehow I'm here to find the root of this mess.

Almost as if it were reading my mind, Roger's hand controller started squealing. Roger said, "Sam, Ziggy said there is a 75 percent chance you are here to prevent the _Galactica _from being hijacked."

Great, now all I have to do is find out how to stop an event that will occur ten years in the future.


	3. The New Guy

The alarm blared early the next morning. Amanda was nudging me saying, "Alfred, its time to wake up."

I got out of bed, showered, shaved, and got a good look at Colonel Bellows in the bathroom mirror. He looked to be in his mid-to-late 50s, but he seemed to be in very good shape. I carefully donned his air force uniform, trying to look presentable. I also took a few minutes to look through Bellow's wallet. The fact he had a few of his business cards in there made my life a lot easier.

When I finally made it out of the bedroom, I could smell bacon and eggs.

Amanda said, "You better hurry up, Alfred, or you'll be late to work."

I quickly ate my breakfast grabbed the Ford keys hanging near the door. I drove to the nearest gas station under the pretext of topping off the gas tank. The real purpose was to get a street map. Fortunately, the Kennedy Space Center is fairly easy to find from Cocoa Beach.

When I made it to the main gate, I grabbed a base map. After a while I finally found my building. I was fairly late pulling in.

When I found my office, I found a rather annoyed-looking woman in the uniform of a technical sergeant sitting at the desk in front of my office. "Your nine-o' clock is waiting for you, Doctor."

"Thank you Sergeant," I said while grabbing the file. Hopefully, I wouldn't be trying to psychoanalyze some poor soul.

Much to my relief, it was a psychological screening of an astronaut candidate. Looking through the file, Bellows was very thorough. He ordered tests I didn't even hear of. All I had to do was a brief interview of the officer. I figured General Healey would like this… the candidate was an Army helicopter pilot.

"Sorry to keep you waiting Captain Murdock," I said while inviting in the young officer.

Murdock replied, "Not a problem, Sir."

I started the interview, "You did pass all your tests with flying colors. I notice, though, you did spend time at the Psychiatric Evaluation Unit of China Beach Army Hospital in Vietnam."

Murdock said, "Yes sir, I made no attempt to hide that. Just a routine evaluation after flying several special operations flight." Murdock was telling the truth, he did put that on his initial evaluation.

I explained, "You were in extraordinary circumstances, Captain. The duty psychiatrist there cleared you for full duty, so your time at the PEU won't be held against you."

Murdoch replied, "Thank you, sir."

I asked Murdoch, "Captain, why do you want to be an astronaut?"

Murdoch smiled, "Because at NASA, they encourage you to think. In the Army if you think too much, they send you to the shrink."

I chuckled. I liked this Murdock. I dismissed him with, "Thank you Captain. I think I have enough for my report."

Murdock replied, "Thank you, sir," and left.

A few minutes after Murdock left, the intercom buzzed and the Sergeant's voice said, "Dr. Bellows, General French is on line one."

I answered line one with a crisp, "Yes, Sir."

The voice on the other end asked, "So, Colonel, what did you think of Captain Murdock?"

I answered, "Psychologically speaking, I think he's ready for Astronaut training."

General French replied, "I agree, he'll be a good addition, even though he's Army. What we need in the program are more Marines." Obviously, the General was in the Corps.

I laughed and said, "Yes, sir."

After I got off the phone with French, Healey reappeared.

Roger said, "Sam, I've got news. We had always thought the pilot of the shuttle was coerced into taking the former Army Special Ops team up in orbit to free the defector. But after Ziggy went through some classified Defense records, it appears the pilot and the so called 'A-Team' did have a history of collaborating on missions."

With a sinking feeling, I asked, "What's the name of the pilot?"

As I predicted, Roger Healey answered, "Lieutenant Colonel H.M. Murdock, U.S. Army."

I hesitantly said, "Roger, I just told General French that Murdock was fit for astronaut training."

General Healey exclaimed, "Sam! I can't believe you told the Command General of NASA, a Marine no less, that Howling Mad Murdock was mentally sound!"


	4. Project Pilgrim

It would appear that I inadvertently set off the events that ten years later would end manned space flight, and deny my friend Al the chance to be an astronaut.

I asked Healey, "What if I were to call General French and tell him I made a mistake, that Murdock was not fit to fly."

Healey replied, "Its not likely to make a difference. Unfortunately, Bellows doesn't have a lot of credibility as it is; and I have to take some responsibility for that. Besides, General French doesn't take much stock in psychiatry. He was almost kicked out of the Marine Corps during WWII, but his ability to fly a Corsair, and a Major 'Pappy' Boyington saved him from the brig. French is more interested in Murdock's flying skills, and Murdock is one of the best chopper pilots in the Army."

I spent the most of the rest of the day hiding out in Bellows' office, trying to figure out how to untie this time knot. I went home and had dinner with Amanda, and fortunately she didn't seem to expect much conversation. She also seemed content to go straight to sleep that night, which avoided a potentially awkward situation.

I was roused from my sleep by General Healey shouting, "Sam! Wake up!" fairly close to my ear. The clock read one a.m. I walked into the bathroom.

"What is it, Roger?" I asked. This new hologram really was starting to remind me of Al.

Roger said cryptically, "We need to go get Murdock. I'm going to tell you now, you're going to see some pretty incredible things tonight, but I know I can trust you of all people with a secret."

"How am I supposed to get Murdock?" I asked.

Roger answered, "He should be in the transient BOQ. Just tell him it's a stress test to complete his psych profile, and he'll come with you."

I went back in the bedroom and got dressed. Amanda rolled over and said, "Not another emergency."

I replied, "Yes, sorry to wake you." Mrs. Bellows just grunted. I imagine that Amanda is used to Alfred leaving in the middle of the night to deal with military and medical crises.

The holographic Roger and I went over to the housing unit said aside for temporarily assigned officers. I used the ruse Roger came up with, and Murdock came right along. He really did believe this was part of the psychological testing to become an astronaut.

Roger directed me to take Murdock to an unused launch pad. We walked down into an area near the launch pad marked "Bunker 18." What I saw at the bottom of the bunker even took me aback. It was Lt. Colonel Anthony Nelson.

Murdock asked, "Colonel Nelson, shouldn't you be up in orbit?"

Nelson ignored the question and stated, "Captain Murdock, at this point, I am authorized to share with you the greatest secret of the space program. Any disclosure of what you see here to unauthorized personnel will be dealt with, in the most extreme manner."

Now I was curious.

Murdock said, "Understood, Sir."

Nelson continued, "The entire manned space program has been a hoax, perpetrated here at Cape Canaveral. The Russians found out over a decade ago that man could not withstand the stress necessary to leave the Earth's orbit. Both we and the Soviets have launched unmanned rockets, and performed mock missions broadcast from this bunker."

Murdock looked shocked. The holographic Healey was laughing. I was wondering what Nelson was up to, not to mention how he managed to get from an orbiting space station to a bunker in Florida.

Nelson led us down a Hallway. Mrs. Nelson joined us.

Mrs. Nelson explained, "Anthony Junior is with my mother. I decided to spend the evening with my husband."

Lt. Col. Nelson added, "One nice thing about not really being in space is that we get to spend time with our wives." The astronaut came to a fire door. Mrs. Nelson appeared as if she were going to sneeze, but didn't. Lt. Col. Nelson opened the fire door, and we stepped into a full scale mock up of Skylab.

The "real" Lt. Col. Roger Healey greeted us with, "Hey Tony, Jeannie, Dr. Bellows. Les Wingate is actually asleep, like Houston thinks we all are." Then to Murdock, Healey said, "You must be Captain Murdock. Welcome."

Murdock managed to utter "How?"

The holographic General Healey looked at his younger self and said, "Ahhh, to be 40 again."

Tony answered, "Only a select few are in on it. Computers, sensors, cameras can all be fooled. Even the highest Generals honestly believe there are three men in Skylab."

I asked, "So Skylab is actually orbiting the Earth?"

Nelson answered, "Yes, it was sent up unmanned and placed in orbit. We'll let Roger and Les get some sleep." Tony then led us out of 'Skylab.'

Murdock then asked, "And the Russians go along with this?"

Tony answered, "Yes, actually they started the ruse to fool us that they put a man in space. We found out they were faking, but couldn't prove it, so we just became better con men. As a matter of fact, we will soon be doing a joint mission with the Soviets. It will be a 'link-up' between an Apollo and a Soyuz capsule. The unmanned capsules will really dock in space, but the 'mission' will take place at an abandoned warehouse in Siberia."

We then walked down a hallway and came to another metal door. Jeannie once again did that blinking thing, and Tony opened the door to expose a full-scale mock up of Tranquility Base. We walked out onto the "moon" and continued over to the "_Eagle" _next to the flag with the perpetual wave.

"Just think of it Murdock," Tony said, "you are standing were only a few score men have stood before."

I muttered, "Incredible," while the holographic Healey was snickering.

Murdock said, "This can't be. I don't think I could in good conscience keep this a secret."

Tony deadpanned and said, "Then its time for another unfortunate accident."

Murdock said, "No!" and then ran out of the bunker.

Once Murdock was gone, Tony started to laugh, then looked at me and asked, "Jeannie, are you positive that this isn't Dr. Bellows."

Jeannie answered, "I am sure, darling, he is a time traveler by the name of Dr. Samuel Beckett. General Roger Healey from the future is also here."

Lt. Colonel Roger Healey walked in and asked, "I make General?"

I carefully answered, "That is one possible timeline." I didn't want to do anything to change the future.

Nelson grinned, "Roger a general, wow. Jeannie, you better blink us back up to Skylab."

Jeannie blinked, and Anthony Nelson and the younger Roger Healey was gone. I asked my holographic companion, "Where did they go?"

He answered, "Orbit, of course. I can't explain much more, but suffice it to say that the space program is very real. I suggest you go back home and wait."


	5. The Truth is Out There

I went back to Dr. Bellows' house, and had only been gone a short time when there was a knock on the door. I opened to the door to greet a very tired-looking middle aged Air Force Master Sergeant.

"Good morning, Dr. Bellows. General French would like you to come with me." The sergeant's tone of voice left little doubt on whether or not I had a choice.

I got into an Air Force sedan with the Master Sergeant and we rode out to the bunker that I was just at. I noticed Murdock was standing there with a squadron of Air Force Security Police, along with General French. I also noticed Bunker 18 looked a lot more abandoned than it was about an hour ago.

Austin and I walked up to the General, who looked very annoyed. The General said, "Good evening Dr. Bellows, Captain Murdock here says you two went on quite an adventure."

Holographic General Healey said to me, "Sam, tell him that you wanted to discuss with Murdock some concerns you had about the stress test. You started to take him from the BOQ to your office and he ran off into the night."

I said, "I wanted to follow up with Captain Murdock about some notes the Army Psychiatrist in Vietnam made about him. I thought it would be less threatening to discuss it with him at the O Club, but when I came to the stop sign near the pad, he ran off in the night."

"Nice," said holographic Roger.

French looked annoyed, and said, "You didn't think to report this?"

I replied, "It would go against doctor-patient privilege, sir, besides I didn't order him to come with me."

Murdock cried, "He's lying. The whole space programs a lie, and I can prove it. Bellows took me down here, and I can show you that Healey and Nelson are still down there."

General French said, "Son, Colonels Nelson and Healey are currently orbiting the Earth in Skylab, but we'll see what you want to show us."

We went down into the bunker, and Murdock opened the fire door where Nelson showed us 'Skylab.' "See!" The Army Captain exclaimed. When all we saw was an empty storage room the prospective astronaut added, "I don't understand."

We then followed Murdock to where the 'Tranquility Base', again finding an empty room.

Murdock finally said, "You're all in on it! There is no space program. I'll prove it! I'll prove it!"

General French made a motion with his hand, and almost instantaneously two Air Force medics appeared. They gave Murdock an injection, and the Captain immediately went lax. It was most likely some sort of sedative.

French asked the NCO who drove me up, "Master Sergeant, are you familiar with the documentation necessary for an Army psychiatric discharge?"

The Sergeant replied, "Yes, Sir, before I transferred to the Air Force, I was a company clerk at an Army MASH unit during the Korean War. I'm intimately familiar with Section 8."

French ordered, "Very well, Master Sergeant Klinger, get the paperwork drawn up for Dr. Bellow's signature." French then said, "I don't understand. Murdock was a talented pilot, he reminded me of some of the black sheep I flew with in World War II with VMF 214."

I replied, "You never know when a person is going to snap. War affects people in different ways."

General French stated, "Well now he'll be spending an indeterminate time in an Army psych ward. And we are short of an astronaut."

_Short an astronaut? Maybe that's why I'm here! _I asked the General, "What about Al Calavicci?"

The General replied, "Topgun's skipper? We passed on him because of your concerns regarding his age and former POW status."

I took a chance and said, "I've since reconsidered. We have astronauts older than him. Plus the Commander's former POW status could only help NASA's image

The General took a moment to think, then declared, "You've sold me. Al Calavicci it is"

At that instant, the holographic Major General Roger Healy was replaced by the more familiar image of Admiral Al Calavicci. 

"Sam, where have you been? We lost track of you!" Al asked. After looking around Al observed, "We're at NASA, and that's General French. And you're NASA Psychiatrist Dr. Alfred Bellows."

I replied to General French, "I'm sure Commander Calavicci will be pleased to hear he has been selected."

French responded with, "That he would be. I remember when I got the call to be a NACA test pilot when I was at PAX River. I'll make the call to Miramar this morning."

Al reminisced, "I remember getting that call. It was one of the best days in my life."

When I got to my, or Dr. Bellow's, I filled Al in on what was going on. He took it better than I thought he would.

Al said, "So I could have ended up a Senator married to Ginger Grant. It would have only cost the whole manned space program, and my opportunities to travel in space and retire an Admiral. You did the right thing, Sam."

"I don't remember, whatever did happen to the Minnow survivors?" I asked, partially afraid of the answer I would get.

Al smacked his hand controller and it squealed, then Al replied, "All seven were eventually rescued, only a couple years after I would have rescued them in the alternate timeline. They opened up an exclusive Club Med type resort on the island that they were stranded on that is still going strong."

I followed up with, "What about Colonel and Mrs. Nelson, and Roger Healey?"

After further fiddling with the controller, Al answered, "Anthony Nelson retired from the Air Force as a Lieutenant General. Nelson is an Adjunct Professor at Texas Tech, and lives at home with his wife, Jeannie. His son, Anthony Nelson Junior, is a Navy Lieutenant detached to NASA. Roger Healey retired from the Army as a full colonel. Healey made a bundle with the invention of the 'Genie' microprocessor."

Finally I asked, "Why am I still here?"

Al's hand controller started making a huge racked. Al shouted, "Sam! Ziggy says to go to Mission Control, now! I know the way, follow me!"

I ran after Al, making it to the quiet Mission Control room. Since the launch, the true Mission Control is in an identical room in the Johnson Space Center outside Houston, Texas. There was a young Captain and a few airmen on duty, but that was it. Al showed me over to the flight surgeon's station.

Al pointed at a side screen that was labeled 'Edwards AFB' and ordered, "Tell them to put the HL-10 test on the main screen."

I relayed what Al said to the duty officer, who looked puzzled, but put the test on the main screen. I saw a B-52 with a smaller glider plane riding piggyback.

Al explained, "I remember watching this test. The HL-10 is a precursor to the Space Shuttle. The showed us footage of this in astronaut training to demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of NASA safety protocols. It's probably about the worst wreck I've ever seen a pilot walk away from."

I watched the test unfold, and listened in to the following radio dialogue:

NASA One (Edwards control): "It looks good at NASA One."

B-52 Pilot: "Roger. BCS Arm switch is on."

NASA One: "Okay, Victor."

B-52 Pilot: "Lining Rocket Arm switch is on."

B-52 Pilot: "Here comes the throttle. Circuit breakers in."

HL-10 Pilot: "We have separation."

Chase plane: "Roger."

B-52 Pilot: "Inboard and outboards are on."

HL-10 Pilot: "I'm comin' a-port with the side stick."

NASA One: "Looks good."

B-52 Pilot: "Ah, Roger."

HL-10 Pilot: "I've got a blow-out - damper three!"

Chase plane: "Get your pitch to zero."

HL-10 Pilot: "Pitch is out! I can't hold altitude!"

B-52 Pilot: "Correction, Alpha Hold is off, turn selectors — Emergency!"

HL-10 Pilot: "Flight Com! I can't hold it! She's breaking up, she's break—"

The HL-10 was then scattered along the floor of the California desert. I found it hard to believe a person could walk away from such a crash.


	6. Another Mission

Master Sergeant Klinger then entered Mission Control and informed me, "Dr. Bellows, you're needed in DC. We have a T-38 ready to go for you. The General wants you in a flight suit post-haste."

I hurriedly changed into a flight suit I found in the Doctors Office, and carefully put Bellow's uniform in a garment bag I found in the locker near the flight suit. I walked out to the flight line, and got in the back seat of a T-38 jet trainer. The Air Force lieutenant flying the plane looked all of 15.

"Strap in tight, Colonel, I was ordered to get you to Bolling Air Force Base ASAHP." The Lieutenant instructed.

I thought _just great._

I looked to my left and saw Al. My holographic companion said, "I'm jealous, you're in for quite a flight." Al then asked, "Are you sure Healey and the Nelsons will keep our little secret?"

I replied, "I think they have a bigger secret of their own. They won't be telling anybody about Quantum Leap. Besides who would believe them?"

It was quite a flight indeed. We made the 900-mile trip from Cape Canaveral to the Washington D.C. area Air Force Base in under 90 minutes. I was given a few minutes to use the latrine, and change back into my uniform. I was then rushed in an Air Force staff car to what appeared to be the Senate office building downtown.

"What is going on?" I quietly asked Al, who was riding along with me in the back seat staff car. The airman driving looked into the rear-view mirror, but knew better than to question the actions of a full-bird colonel.

When I entered the building, I was ushered into a conference room filled with several distinguished-looking men. Just then a tall fellow entered the room. By his sense of purpose, I deduced he was responsible for this meeting.

Our host turned on a video screen showing a patient who had suffered extreme trauma, and explained, "I am Oscar Goldman. On the monitor is Steve Austin, astronaut, a man barely alive."

Al said, "I don't get it. Austin told me himself he walked away from that crash. I know him well, and he is in incredible shape. He retired from the Air Force as a General, and lives in Ojai, California."

Unaware of Al's comment, or presence for that matter, Goldman continued, "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man. Steve Austin will be that man. Better than he was before. Better... stronger... faster."

Al whistled and said, "And you think you know a guy. I always thought something was different about that Air Farce Colonel…"

Goldman then looked at me and said, "This project will cost the tax payers approximately six million dollars. It will build Austin's body but not his mind, that is why I invited NASA Psychiatrist Dr. Alfred Bellows to join us. Colonel Bellows probably knows more about Steve Austin's mind than Austin himself. Dr. Bellows, do you agree with our assessment that Austin is psychologically ready for bionic implants?"

Al said, "Say yes Sam!"

I looked at Oscar Goldman and replied, "Yes, I do." I then felt the lightheadedness and tingling sensation that goes along with another leap.

Next thing I knew I was wearing a tuxedo standing in front of a minister. Next to me was a stunning blonde. The minister continued, "And do you, Samantha, take Darrin to be your lawfully wedded husband…" _Oh Boy!_


End file.
